The One Thing EVERYONE Always Gets Wrong About AEW

by Michael Sidgwick
Hangman Page
AEW

Omega and Page are angling for the deepest level of emotional investment with the most attentive focus on continuity. You might think it's wanky, corny melodrama, but there's a plan that has been in place for years, and when it peaks, the result on business is beneficial. Kenny Omga proved himself a draw all over again last night. AEW was never more consistently strong in the ratings than when Omega and Page feuded ahead of the ultimately postponed All Out 2021 match.

Omega can star as singles player again now, because his aura must be rebuilt ahead of the next big match Page, whenever it happens. That's why - after the contrast between the two men was established on March 15 - he set about reclaiming his throne as the God of Pro Wrestling and defeated El Hijo del Vikingo in one of the most spectacular matches of all-time. Omega based for Vikingo to perfection, making the most awe-inspiring move-set, possibly ever, look equally as deadly.

In AEW, you have to let things play out. If Omega had worked the Vikingo match or something close to it on January 11, Page doesn't feel like the main character of AEW two months later.

Which has been the plan all along.

The idea that Omega might be more successful without the Young Bucks, a take echoed across Twitter in January, is storyline canon. That's not necessarily the ending here - Don Callis is the problem - but everything is moving in the direction fans have demanded all year. The promotion knows what it is doing; it just likes to take its time to generate the maximum interest.

This storyline also doesn't work if AEW as an organisation isn't so disciplined with its match results. It can get boring and predictable, watching a Dynamite in which five out of six match results at a minimum are a formality, but everything, or much of it, happens for a reason. A win over Jon Moxley is an annual event, and because it is an annual event, it actually means something.

In AEW, "finish the story" doesn't happen - but that isn't because the stories don't exist. The stories are always unfinished, just like yours is. Real long-term storytelling doesn't end after a nice three-month chunk.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!